Chelsea Walton, a professor of mathematics at Rice University, has been named a 2025 fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), joining an exclusive group of 41 mathematicians worldwide who are being recognized for their exceptional contributions to the field. Walton’s selection underscores her dedication to advancing mathematical research, specifically her influence in noncommutative algebra, quantum symmetries, Hopf algebras and representation theory.
Established in 1888, the AMS acknowledges individuals who significantly impact mathematical sciences and promotes its growth and application through this fellowship. AMS President Bryna Kra congratulated the 2025 Class of AMS Fellows and acknowledged their contributions. “This year’s class was selected from a large and excellent pool of candidates, highlighting the many ways that individuals advance our profession,” Kra said. “I look forward to working with them in service to our community.”
Walton’s recognition as an AMS Fellow follows a series of notable accomplishments. In 2017, she was named an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellow, an award celebrating promising scientists making significant strides in their disciplines. In 2024, she received the Claytor-Gilmer Fellowship from the AMS to further excellence in mathematics research and to help generate wider and sustained participation by Black mathematicians.
Walton has been invited to deliver notable addresses throughout her career, including at two 2021 Joint Mathematics Meetings as well as the National Association of Mathematicians’ Claytor-Woodard Lecture and the Mathematical Association of America Invited Address.
Walton earned her B.S. in mathematics from Michigan State University in 2005 and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2011. Her postdoctoral journey included a U.S. National Science Foundation Fellowship at the University of Washington in 2011-12 and appointments at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in 2013 and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012-15, where she served as a Moore Instructor. Before joining Rice’s faculty in 2020, she taught at Temple University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.